Honkytonk Hearts
by CharmedSerenity
Summary: Vigilante has a crush, but not on the usual suspect! Based on a post I wrote for my JLU RPG.
1. A drowning of sorrows

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the animated JL universe, Tavern On Jane, or Budweiser in any way, shape or form.

He had excused himself after Sir Justin had waltzed off to deal with a situation in his British homeland after Mr Terrific had contacted those in Manhattan, the parade being held in their honour following the fight against Darkseid was slowly starting to wind down though some of the more sociable members of the League were still meeting and greeting, and signing autographs.

Locating a place called Tavern On Jane along 31 8th Avenue, the cowboy had slipped in, taking a seat at the bar, and took distracted swigs from the bottle, not bothering with a glass.

As he finished his first beer, a flicker of movement from the television, which was set to a local news channel, caught his attention as it replayed the events of the parade, and his eyes narrowed as he had a glimpse of the leading cars and the founding League members riding in them.

His face changed as he spotted her, a conflicted look flashing across it. He shouldn't feel this way, considering what she had done to everyone..., what her people had done to him, but since the off-planet trap that those other Thanagarians had set, he had ended up on more missions with her, getting to know her slowly and surely, and damn, if she wasn't quite the little spitfire.

Maybe that's where this slowly-growing attraction had come from, the fact that in her own way, she was almost a kindred spirit.

Even if he did chose to admit this to her, she still wasn't over Stewart danggit, though he didn't deserve her. That damned Green Lantern had made his choice and opted for someone else. That left her free and single, but would she want him?

Sighing to himself, he ordered another Budweiser.


	2. To defy destiny

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the animated JL universe in any way, shape or form. I wish I did, but I don't.

The red-headed woman scowled as she stared at the monitors, her wings folded tightly across her back as if she were angry. In a way she was, but at herself.

After learning of their future son, Shayera had approached Amanda Waller for tests but the results had always been the same, humans and Thanagarians simply were not genetically compatible. She had then made the mistake of telling John and his expression had been one of shock and slight disappointment, but he also looked like a weight had lifted from his shoulders somewhat. A week later, he had proposed to Vixen and the forthcoming wedding had became all the media could talk about as Mari, being a model, was constantly under their gaze.

The whole League had been invited, but Shayera had decided not to go as she had felt hurt and betrayed. In the end some kind of morbid curiosity had ended up driving her to watch the event on the monitors and her eyes narrowed. On the screens, the bride proudly walked down the church on the arm of Ted Grant as he had offered to walk her down the aisle in her deceased father's place, then Mari stepped onto the altar platform to join a nervous-looking John and his best man Rex Mason.

Taking in everything from the bride's dress, a body-hugging ivory number with straps for sleeves and pearls studded all over it to the flowers, Shayera's hand was suddenly tightening around her mace as the ceremony began, both the bride and groom looking happy.

_"Do you, John Stewart take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"_

_"I do"_

_"And do you, Mari McCabe, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"_

_"I do..."_

Bristling, Shayera felt tempted to express herself by smashing the monitors, but the things were important to the League and with the weapon in hand, she got up and walked towards the doors. John was now out of her reach forever, fighting for a married man was wrong. Maybe this was destiny's way of telling her to move on herself.

About to leave, she nearly crashed into another human and she stepped back slightly, her gaze travelling up and down the familiar blue shirt and white trousers as Greg gently tipped his hat slightly to her.

"Evenin' ma'am. Thought Ah might find yer here"

"And why were you looking for me?

"Thought yer may want ta go somewhere for a drink. Talk about anythin' that's botherin' yer" his gaze slid past her to take in the monitors and what they were showing.

Shayera paused, glancing back at the faint images of the wedding on the monitors and found herself biting her lower lip slightly before turning her attention back to Vigilante to notice a faint look of hope in his eyes. She drew herself up and nodded, after all John had chosen someone else over her so why couldn't she do the same?

Sliding her arm into his, Shayera raised an eyebrow when he started slightly as if not expecting that gesture, but she chose to ignore it.

"I'd love to, Greg. What bar do you recommend...?"


	3. Coffee Breaks and Baby Blues

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the animated JL universe in any way, shape or form. I wish I did, but I don't.

**Author's Note:** To all the fans of this story, sorry for the long wait, hit a rut with this story. This takes place a year after chapter 2, and I'm imagining John's and Mari's superhero personas aren't secret as they don't wear masks. Also opening requests on what you'd like to see in future chapters.

Shayera shifted uncomfortably in her chair, wondering why she was here as her gaze travelled around the hospital waiting room and the others gathered there, taking in those who were familiar to her.

Opposite her, Clark and Lois were representing the Daily Planet. It was a big newsday for papers, magazines, television and radio alike. The first recorded baby born to two of Earth's greatest heroes garnered a lot of attention, as much as the Stewarts' wedding it seemed. The dark-haired reporter giggled, her lips meeting her partner's nose, lightly kissing it and removing the blob of foam from his cappuccino that rested there as Clark squinted at her and chuckled, moving to nibble on her neck slightly.

The winged woman looked away as her attention switched to Wally, his lap full as he wrapped his arms around his lover with a playful growl and Shayera's thoughts drifted back to the memories of that day, Her surrogate brother had finally decided to ask Fire out just to walk in on her in a compromising position with Tora, turns out the Brazilian was bi-sexual and Wally had been a little too slow in making his move. Luckily Giganta had decided she preferred playing hero, joining the League unofficially and she had really helped Wally get over being hurt like that.

"Miss Hol! Mr and Mrs Stewart would like to see you now"

Shayera looked up immediately, then against her better judgement, found herself getting to her feet and followed the nurse into the room. Inside, John was beaming proudly, a bundle cradled against his chest as a tiny hand gripped his thumb while Mari sat back against the pillows, her forehead and short black hair damp with sweat, her hospital gown falling off both her shoulders slightly.

"What's his name?" Shayera felt the words slip past her lips like she was in a daze.

"Rex in honor of his godfather. John seemed reluctant about the name, but I know how to change his mind" Mari replied, smiling at the other woman "We'd like you to be the godmother"

By the elder gods, he had never told her. Shayera felt her eyes widen as she glanced at John and noticed that he refused to look at her, this wasn't happening. First John married someone else, then gave their son's name to the baby that he and Mari had created, something that she could never have given him.

Turning quickly, she fled from the room, ignoring John calling her name.

* * *

"Howdy darlin'!"

"I'm not in the mood for company right now" Shayera didn't look up from the table she was sitting at in the coffee shop just off the hospital's main entrance.

Silence met her request, then a cup of coffee was put in front of her as the cowboy took the seat opposite with his own hot drink.

"No can do, came here to congratulate Stewart and saw yer sittin' here all lonely-like"

Since their first and only semi-date a year ago, they had decided to keep their relationship just on a friendly level as Shayera found herself still too reluctant to let go despite the cowboy letting go of the very last traces of his hatred and distrust of her and to be honest she was glad, Greg was a good friend, easy to talk to and a real gentleman.

Silence followed, then Shayera took a small sip of her coffee before whispering "He was meant to be ours"

"Pardon, ma'am?"

Green eyes met blue as the red-head continued "He went to the future, said he'd met our son. Only I couldn't give him what he wanted..., add that to the fact he wanted to make his own destiny and he slipped out of my reach forever"

"Always thought the man was a darn fool! This proves it" Vigilante leant forward, his hand lightly resting on top of hers.

Shayera started slightly at the touch, then studied the cowboy's face carefully, mixed emotions rushing through her. Some small part of her still loved John, it always would but Greg had been a constant source of comfort since the wedding, always willing to sit and listen. Maybe it was finally time to let go.

Before she knew it, her hand had shot up, fingers wrapping around the bandanna and pulling his head towards her slightly, her lips seeking his even in spite of the cloth barrier.

She could feel him tense, caught off-guard for a second then he returned the kiss like he wanted this, had been wanting her for goodness who knows how long and for once, Shayera found John Stewart was the last thing on her mind.


	4. Getting to know you

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the animated JL universe, Star Trek, Mortons, Rodeo Bar, Grand Madison and Southern Hospitality in any way, shape or form.

**Author's Notes:** To clear up any misunderstandings, I'll like to say in this fanfic at least, John actually never did and never will tell Mari about his trip to the future and what he saw there, the god-mother thing was an offer to someone both parents happen to be friends with.  
Also I'm using an updated/more modern version of Greg's comic history. Other elements come from my own little touches or were inspired by City Lights, Prairie Justice and what little I know/learnt about the comic version of Vigilante. And finally I'd like to thank Trickster91 for correcting my grammar.

Shayera stirred, green eyes half-opening as the sound of traffic from outside slowly registered in her mind and she turned over to take in the room, eyes widening slightly at the unfamiliar surroundings for a moment before she remembered last night. Greg had invited her to spent the night in the guest-room at his home, a condo building called Grand Madison in Manhattan after the events of yesterday.

The smell of pancakes laced with cinnamon drifted in from the kitchen and she slowly rose, grabbing the provided bathrobe from where it had been slung onto the nearby armchair and slipped it on, adjusting it to comfortably accommodate her wings before lightly tying the sash and following the scent of what must be breakfast.

In the kitchen area, Greg was working on building two pancake stacks, the cowboy was wearing his own bathrobe and his dark hair was damp, implying that he'd had a shower.

"Take a seat, Ah'll be done soon enough," he called over and Shayera took a seat at the dining table, taking in every little detail of the combined dining room and living room area. It was homely but in a simple way.

"I didn't know you could cook," the red-head watched him with a honest curiosity.

"It's one of my hobbies," Greg replied with a slight smile as he brought both plates of pancakes and two cups of coffee over on a tray, then gave Shayera hers first before sitting down to join her. For a moment or two there was mostly silence, broken only by the squeak of metal on china as they both focused on eating between sips but it was a comfortable atmosphere.

As Greg cleared the table and did the dishes when they had finally finished, Shayera decided to explore slightly, moving around the living room and picked up a photo of two boys, one younger than the other and a man standing behind them from the television unit, studying it.

"Found the family photo, Ah see," her host spoke from behind her, his expression looking like he was remembering happier times.

"What happened?" the question slipped out before she could stop it.

"Dad, the town's sheriff was killed in a bank heist back home. Jeff, my kid brother, contracted leukemia," Greg replied.

Shayera didn't say a word as she replaced the photo, then moved to lightly rest a hand against his cheek, watching him lean into it. Sometimes at times like this, words were hollow and apologies meant nothing. She knew that from personal experience.

"Thanks, darlin'!" Greg nodded, watching her with a small, weak smile "Still kind of miss 'em, same goes for Jimmy Leong."

"Who?" Shayera's reply was quiet as she waited to see if he wanted to share that with her.

"The personal assistant my manager hired. Good kid and was a close friend," Greg narrowed his eyes at the memory. "Two years ago, Jimmy and his new girlfriend Stacey were caught in the crossfire of a turf-war between The Dummy and a local crime-lord called Seagal. But enough 'bout me, what 'bout yer?"

"The simplest way to describe my home and early life is we function like those aliens from that one show, the ones with the odd foreheads," Shayera replied and shifted slightly as she added quietly "My birth-family would be dead or have disowned me by now."

"Klingons?" Greg replied as he lowered his gaze, shouldn't have brought that question up.

Shayera just nodded slightly as the cowboy stepped forward, maybe a change of subject was in order.

"Darlin', yer ever seen the best of what this city has t'offer?"

"I never thought about it, or had the time," Shayera confessed, nibbling at her lower lip thoughtfully.

"Well, as soon as yer dressed, the Vigilante is takin' yer on a grand tour of the big apple," he nodded at her before disappearing into his bedroom to get into his hero costume.

The winged woman watched him go before following him out of the living room, she should get dressed too.

* * *

Shayera felt like yelling, her wings folded tightly against her back to prevent drag as she tightened her arms around the cowboy's chest, the motorbike tearing back towards the Brooklyn Bridge. This was an amazing way to travel! The fast, free feeling it gave someone. They had experienced Coney Island first, then from there had systemically rode around the streets, Greg pointing out various landmarks and more famous streets on the way.

Crossing the bridge, the cowboy glanced over his shoulder as his stomach growled quietly "Yer trust me ta pick a place fer lunch?"

"Without a doubt, you do know this place better than me," she nodded with a slight smile.

"Glad ta hear it," Greg called back and turned his bike to head up towards the upper east side of Manhattan.

Within a few minutes, they had arrived at a place called Southern Hospitality and parked the bike before going inside and finding a table despite people staring and whispering at Shayera's presence.

"What are you having?" a bored-looking waitress had drifted over the second both heroes had sat down.

"Ah be havin' the andouille crawfish mac & cheese with yer southern-style sweet tea and some red velvet cake fer dessert," Greg replied.

Shayera scanned the menu for a moment, then added "I'll have the same drink with a buffalo chicken mac & cheese and the caramelized bananas for after please."

"We'll also have some buffalo shrimp and fried pickle chips ta share if the lady doesn' mind."

As the menus were taken away and they waited for their food, the winged woman leant on the table to whisper her question, " I've been wondering since you told me, what exactly did my people do to you back then...?"

"When the other hawks showed their true colors, Ah fought back but was careless, got myself caught savin' some policemen and they locked me in a cell 'bout the size of a high-school locker. Looked like part of a containment area outside the city too, got treated worse than an animal, like Ah was there for their amusement. When they were defeated, started pullin' out, they left me there, alone in that room to rot! If it weren't for Sir Justin findin' me, Ah'd be dead!"

Shayera looked horrified, then she lowered her gaze, her voice barely above a whisper, "I'm sorry, I had no..."

"Don't apologise, darlin'! Ah managed ta put that behind me a while ago," the cowboy cut her off as he leant forward, one hand moving to rest on hers.

Thankfully the food arrived a few seconds later and they silently turned their attention to that instead.

* * *

"And that's Lady Liberty herself," Greg commented, half-leaning, half-sitting sideways on his bike as Shayera stood at the harbor's edge, staring out at the statue in the distance.

Following lunch, they had spent the afternoon and early evening exploring Manhattan and its neighbour checking out sights like the Empire State Building, Central Park and the Bronx Zoo, ending up here. After taking the sight before her, she turned to her companion.

"So what do you have lined up next?"

"Yer like steak, if yer hungry enough?" Greg replied.

Shayera nodded, taking his hand as he offered it to her, then pulled her towards the vehicle and she got back on.

* * *

Leaning back in her chair, Shayera felt content. The cowboy had brought her to a steakhouse called Mortons and she had to say she was impressed. Greg had settled for a starter called jump shrimp alexander before moving onto a cajun ribeye with sour cream mashed potatoes and followed that with a hot chocolate cake. She'd had a lobster cocktail, followed by alaskan king crab legs and parmesan truffle matchstick fries finished with a legendary sundae and they'd shared a bacon and onion macaroni and cheese side as part of their main course.

"An after-dinner drink would be nice! You know any good bars?" Shayera asked, watching him through half-closed eyes.

"Yeah, personal favourite's called the Rodeo Bar, jus' a short ride from here. Used to play there before my big break as the Prairie Troubadour." Greg leant forward and replied in a whisper.

"Good, then you won't mind showing me the way, cowboy," she nodded, a slight teasing tone to her voice as he paid the bill and they got up to leave.

* * *

Laughing as Greg unlocked the door, Shayera wiped a tear away from her eye "Did you see that man's face when you caught him off-guard, Elbow straight to the face!"

"Bar-fights always put yer in this good a mood?" he raised an eyebrow "Besides, don' like people bad-mouthin' a lady."

She nodded as she turned to face him, her fingers reaching back to untie his bandanna, letting it fall to the floor as he removed his hat and tossed it to one side, allowing her to push him towards and onto the bed as her hands moved down, slowly unbuttoning his shirt.

"Thank you for an amazing day," she whispered, moving to mount his chest and arching slightly as his hand began a slow teasing movement down her back.

Her eyes closed slightly as the cowboy began to focus on drawing circles on the area between her wings, which happened to be a highly sensitive area as a low moan of pleasure escaped her lips.

Her wings stiffened as if their actions had brought something to the surface and Shayera shifted, a soft confession slipping out, "I can't have children with you, with any human male. The tests I had done, they..." a finger lightly pressed against her mouth before she could say any more.

"That don't matter, darlin'!" and the next thing she knew, his mouth was exploring her lips, savouring the contact as she returned it in kind and their kiss grew hungrier with each passing second.

Within the space of the next few minutes, Shayera Hol and Gregory Saunders had joined, bodies and souls!


	5. A friend in need, a friend in deed

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the animated JL universe in any way, shape or form. I wish I did, but I don't.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to Dog Soup for the idea for this chapter! Also Pat/S.T.R.I.P.E will be showing up as a recurring character in future chapters as I think he's an awesome character!

Shayera felt a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she entered the cafeteria to get herself a cup of fresh coffee. She was in a happier than usual mood, and judging by the quizzical looks that both the League members and support staff present in the room were throwing in her direction, it had been noticed. Spending yesterday with Greg had been more than enjoyable but it was a shame that he had to leave for an early morning mission.

She had barely got the chance to sit down with her drink when Mr. Terrific's voice rang up over the space-station's comm-system "All available medical staff specialising in toxicity cases report to the infirmary. The Korea team's coming in fast and one of them's down. They ran into Cheshire..."

Shayera jerked and rose to her feet fast as her wings knocked over the cup, ignoring the dark brown liquid now running along the table and down onto the floor even as the winged woman fled from the room. Vigilante had been on that assignment.

* * *

Half-running half-flying to the launch-bays without slowing down, Shayera stopped, eyes widening slightly as she saw Oliver and Dinah Queen coming from the other direction, the newly-weds forming a chair with their arms with a limp but all too familiar figure being carried between them, his head hanging low enough for his hat to hide his face.

"Out of the way!" the archer hollered as they sped past the winged woman without stopping or slowing down, heading straight towards the medical wing.

Shayera turned to watch them as she bit her lip and quickly followed them. She hadn't felt this stab of fear like this for ages, since John had briefly died during that explosion in Las Vegas.

This was different though, despite that good-natured dig about spiked water at Mari, poison scared her more than she'd like to admit. As a warrior, she knew dying on the battlefield or a mission was a death she didn't mind happening to her in the long run, but to end up dying slowly from the inside out...

Pausing, Shayera shuddered at the thought then shook her head, not wanting to dwell on that as she moved to the medical wing, taking a seat outside the room where she had seen both the medics and Greg fighting for his life though the large window. Judging from how lifeless he had looked, he had a fair bit of poison in his system.

Shifting slightly, she barely looked up as Green Arrow and Black Canary stepped out onto the walkway, passing her to get their own minor wounds looked at and shooting the winged woman concerned yet sympathetic looks as they did so.

"May I?"

The voice was vaguely familiar, as Shayera realised she had been so distracted by her thoughts that she had lost track of time and she looked up to see one of the expanded Justice League members, the one who owned one or two robot suits. Then she found her gaze drawn up to his face, her eyes lingering on his hair as her face softened and she bit her lower lip, her thoughts flashing back to her father who had the same colour hair.

"I'm not going to stop you..." Shayera replied, realising that she didn't know his real name at least, having only seen him around the Watchtower but had never worked with him out in the field before.

"It's Pat!" he nodded, then slowly sat in the seat next to her and leant forward slightly, watching Shayera out of the corner of one eye with some concern. She looked like she needed someone to talk to and despite the lingering whispers and glares she got on rare occasions, right now he saw a scared and worried person.

For a few minutes, they sat in complete silence before the older human spoke up quietly "I was in the area for a post-mission check-up when I saw them carrying Vigilante in! What happened?"

"Poison," the winged woman's reply was barely about a whisper, she needed to talk to someone, to anyone at that moment in time, "I can't lose Greg, not now."

"Believe me, I know the feeling..., I don't like to think about it, but Stargirl's two years away from being a legal adult and then I won't be able to watch her back as much as I'd like to," Pat replied, throwing a sympathetic look at the winged woman as he picked up on the emotion behind her words and for one moment, he found himself putting himself in Shayera's place, if that had happened to Courtney or Barbara then continued speaking, "But even though she's my step-daughter, part of my family and while I'm scared of losing her to matters out of my control I always chose to respect her decision when she wanted to be a superhero because I care for her and situations like this, you know as well as I do, they come with the territory."

"You don't think I don't know that." Shayera replied quietly, hardly hiding the concern in her voice and eyes as she turned her head slightly to look at him, her body language speaking her newly-discovered feelings for the cowboy in volumes.

"I know but I don't think Vigilante would appreciate being treated like he's a helpless human despite the lack of powers, same as I would, I guess," Pat commented, then gently moved to give Shayera's shoulder a gentle reassuring squeeze before he spoke up again. "And we both know you need to move past the fears, the worry of losing one another due to our so-called day-jobs or the relationship's going to end before it even begins."

Shayera nodded silently, taking everything he had just said in then a polite cough caught their attention and both League members glanced up to see a medic standing a couple of feet away, his gaze landing on Shayera. "We administered the needed antidote and got him stabilised, he's waking up and asking for you."

She got to her feet and moved to the door, pausing to glance back at Pat with a quiet "Thank you" then she moved to enter the room, the door sliding closed behind her.

"Well howdy, jus' the woman Ah was wantin' ta see," Greg commented, his voice a little weaker than usual as he slowly hauled himself against the pillows like even that was something of a struggle, his body still recovering and chuckled drily as he patted the shoulder where he had been stabbed. "Ah think Ah'm needin' something kissed better."

"You idiot!" Shayera cried, smacking a hand against his chest, then she smiled slightly as he moved to gently rest a hand against her cheek, her voice dropping to a whisper "Don't you scare me like that again. I can't lose you too."

That said, she took a seat in the chair next to the medical bed and leant forward as her hand sought his, their fingers intertwining before she studied him with a questioning look.

"What do yer want?" the cowboy glanced at her and raised an eyebrow curiously.

"I think you own me a song, cowboy," Shayera replied with a tiny smirk.

A few seconds later, the lyrics to Greg Saunders' most popular love ballad drifted softly out of the room.

* * *

_I'd like to say I'm making this up as I go along, I kind of suck at writing alien cultures and there are some JLU characters that I don't felt confident enough writing beyond brief cameos or mentions like John Stewart._

_Also couples to expect in this series other than the main pairing - Superman/Lois Lane, Flash/Giganta, Green Arrow/Black Canary, Fire/Ice, Shining Knight/Zatanna, other pairings may or may not wriggle their way in during later chapters!_

_And I'm kind of on the fence about GL/Vixen staying together now. I shipped them when I started this story but after thinking long and hard about it, while I have nothing really against the character, considering the way he treated/treats both his ex and his current girlfriend in the show, I don't think John deserves either woman!_


End file.
